Amazon and 9 More Major Tech Companies Donated to Trump’s Inauguration Fund — Here’s Why
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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In terms of spending money, President-elect Donald Trump broke the record for lavish inaugurations when he took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2017, and he’s well on pace to smash it once again at his upcoming 2025 swearing-in.
According to The New York Times, Trump outspent all the presidents who came before with a $107 million inauguration to kick off his first term. This year, he’s already raised at least $150 million as part of a $200 million-plus haul to fund not just his inauguration but his political operation and, in time, his presidential library.
By comparison, President Joe Biden raised about $62 million for his inauguration, according to nonprofit, nonpartisan political watchdog group Common Cause.
Among the biggest contributors are giant tech companies, some of which have had adversarial relationships with Trump. So why are they donating to Trump’s inauguration, and how much are they giving? Here’s a look at how much of the bill Big Tech will foot for Jan. 20.
Next, find out about the economic shakeups that could happen on day one of Trump’s presidency.
The CEOs and Companies Behind the World’s Most Expensive Party
According to Common Cause, the following tech companies and CEOs have contributed the following amounts since Trump’s election, as of Jan. 10. Since the money they gave or pledged is for his inauguration, the donations are not governed by campaign finance laws and can be unlimited.
- Amazon: $1 million
- Meta: $1 million
- Google: $1 million
- Microsoft: $1 million
- Uber: $1 million
- Ripple (Cryptocurrency): $5 million
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi: $1 million
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg: $1 million
- Apple CEO Tim Cook: $1 million
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: $1 million
‘A Time-Honored Tradition’
The New York Times reported that big inaugural giving — particularly for a president’s second term — is nothing new, calling corporate splurging on inaugurations “a time-honored tradition” born from pragmatism.
With campaign season over and the outcome determined, companies no longer have to straddle the fence and hedge their bets. Once the victor emerges, they can shower the winner with the kind of cash that can translate into favor, or at least to a friend in the highest of places, over the next four years.
On top of that, inauguration donations are one of the last significant opportunities to support a second-term president who will never campaign again.
Good Graces: Can Cash Curry Favor or Remove Companies From the Crosshairs?
It’s certainly possible that companies and CEOs donate to inaugurations to foster a climate of goodwill and national unity during the changing of the presidential guard. However, it would be hard for cynics to ignore that each of these people and companies has a whole lot of skin in the game and exist in a political system where money and influence go hand-in-hand.
For example, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has found himself in Trump’s crosshairs over what the incoming president perceived as unfair and unfavorable coverage in the Bezos-owned Washington Post. Also, Bezos bids for lucrative government aerospace contracts through his company Blue Origin and has expressed support for Trump’s plans for general government deregulation.
With billions in contracts and compliance spending at stake, a million dollars for party planning might feel like a small and worthwhile investment.
Common Cause noted that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated after announcing an end to Facebook’s third-party fact-checking and anti-political disinformation program and overhauling its government relations department with a conservative slant — both moves that followed a meeting with Trump.
Neither of these examples — nor any of the tech industry inauguration donations — indicates a quid-pro-quo or a pay-to-play explanation for donating. All donations were legal, and the law requires no explanation. However, in a political system where money counts as speech, it’s possible big tech donors hope their money will keep talking long after the party ends on January 20.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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